Tortorella was far from perfect; but should he have been fired?

OK, I admitted, I was wrong about this. I’ve been wrong plenty of times, and will be again, but I was as wrong on this as I’ve ever been on anything. That said, it wasn’t just me. Pretty much everybody in and around the team thought John Tortorella was going to get the start of next year at the very least.

Thus I am convinced, and speaking with some who know convinces me even more, that something changed between the end of the exit meetings early Monday afternoon and the announcement of the firing early Wednesday afternoon.

Also, though I probably had a better relationship with Tortorella than others in the media because I knew him when he was a human being/assistant coach/interim coach in 1999-2000, I’m not close to him. I don’t know him well at all. And unlike other firings — Herb Brooks, Roger Neilson, Colin Campbell among them — I don’t feel saddened at all. I feel my job has to be easier, my relationship with the next coach has to be better, than it’s been these last four-plus seasons.

The exact reasons he was fired may have had nothing to do with those, nothing, even to do with his abysmal power play, or his teams’ lack of creativity or offensive play. Maybe we’ll never really know why, in the 48 hours after he conducted exit meetings with his players, something apparently changed.

Or maybe nothing changed. Maybe GM Glen Sather was going to fire him all along for a season of mediocrity, and a second-round pounding by the Boston Bruins, the start for which Tortorella admitted – taking the blame as he did – his players weren’t emotionally prepared.

Maybe it was as simple as Sather put it, that the Rangers’ goal is to win the Stanley Cup (they’ve won once in 73 years) and they fell short, and that coaches have shelf lives and his was up.

“Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we didn’t achieve that goal this year,” Sather said. “I had to make that decision, so I did.”

If Tortorella was fired simply because he didn’t win the Cup, then Sather is delusional. The Rangers aren’t terribly far off from contending, but if you stack their talent against the teams in the final four, the difference it pretty obvious. And if that’s the bottom line, how does Sather rate his own job performance?

Because Tortorella built an identity here in 2011-12, as hard-working and likeable and overachieving team as the Rangers have had in 30 or 40 years – one of the best coaching jobs over that span — that got Sather closer to the Cup than he’s been since 1990.

So maybe something else happened, because all signs said Tortorella was coming back.

Maybe Henrik Lundqvist, who hates being screened or having sliding defensemen deflecting shots past him, and who has grown frustrated of being in 2-1 games under Tortorella’s system, and who, by the way, was friendly with Marian Gaborik and Sean Avery, and who was non-committal in discussing his desire to sign a new contract (his expires in 2014) and whose view of this season being a backward step differed from Tortorella’s view, was a factor.

Maybe Brad Richards, who was scratched for Games 4 and 5 against Boston after what Sather said was an organizational decision, but was given more rope that any player Tortorella has ever coached here, was a factor. The organization will almost certainly buy out his contract. Maybe Tortorella didn’t buy into that buy out.

That said, you can find a lot of arguments against Tortorella, that his system smothered offensive skill, though, really how much skill was there? Or that he didn’t handle Chris Kreider particularly well – though he did inject youth into the roster in each of the previous three seasons; or that players like Michael Del Zotto regressed. You could also argue that players such as Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan and Dan Girardi thrived under his system. And you could never say the players quit on him.

That doesn’t mean they all loved him, and they sure didn’t all despise him. Tortorella had more enemies among the fanbase and among the media, starting from the day he walked into the room and limited access and started barking and snarling.

Yet in many ways he was the best coach the Rangers have had in a long time, and again, his 2011-12 performance was remarkable. His 2013, not so much, most notably that power play and sticking with Richards.

That said, now it will be up to Sather to find somebody different and somebody better. Sather is the guy who, in his Rangers tenure, has hired Ron Low, Bryan Trottier, himself and Tom Renney to coach. And John Tortorella.

If the Stanley Cup is the only acceptable outcome, Sather will now have to outperform his own resume by a lot.

Yes. He was a jerk to many people publicly, and I doubt he was much better in the locker room. He never made adjustments to counter what opponents did to his team. His power play was as bad as I’ve ever seen one, and it was systematically bad, not just the wrong players. His best players could not generate any great chances or momentum, and the coaches job is to counter what they’re doing to shut you down.

His team was run over in the 2nd round, clearly not good enough to win. His team was worse than the sum of it’s parts. They need someone who is not stubborn and will actually work with his team instead of insisting that harder efforts is the only way to produce. Look at Tom Coughlin in 2007…players asked him to change, he did, and the team won 2 championships. They HATED him the previous season.

Dont forget that Callahan made the same “backward step” remark. It was probably a group of top players that went to Sather and said that theyve had enough with the defensive shot blocking system. You’re right about Hank. He hates putting his glove in front of his eyes as it screens him so he heads the puck. Same thing with 5 collapsing players in front of him. He has been screened by his own players, many of them out of position, way too many times.

I said it a while back, and I’m convinced it was a major factor in his demise. There was one player who could rain on Torts parade. While he may not of “lost the team” (although I think that can certainly be debated) he lost the support of “the franchise” who was heard loud and clear on break-up day. And I would be willing to bet that those break-up day rumblings were not the first time Hank’s frustration reverberated from bowels of the Garden up to the ownership and executive suites.

My buddy went out Monday night, ran into ALL of the Rangers together at restaurant. The core roster (Cally, Nash, Richy, MacD, Girardi, MDZ, Staal) was there; no Hank. Perhaps coincidence? Perhaps a coup?

it all really feels to me like it became apparent to uncle glen that lundqvist was feeling like it was going to be him or tortorella and the organization chose lundqvist which was probably the right move here.

i just wonder who in the locker room is really close to hank? did he really have others with him in this? it doesn’t feel like it’s callahan and it seems like callahan, girardi, stepan, and mcdonagh all sort of fly together.

I know people are going to think I’m crazy but if I was the rangers brass I would shop lundqvist around to see what teams are willing to give up because I don’t feel good about giving a 31 going on 32 year old goaltender a 8 year 80 million dollar contract in a cap world, specially a cap that is going to go down. I’m not convinced either that lundqvist wants to stay with the rangers either. I hate to see the rangers lose him for nothing or give up a quarter of your cap space for a 32 year old goaltender.

A friend of a friend’s next-door bneighbor saw Lundqvist sitting alone at a bar last night. Did he want to be alone, or does the team hate him? He was drinking screwdrivers; maybe he thinks he’s about to be screwed?

I disagree Carp .Talent does not win the cup. Heart , passion ,good system , and great goaltenting.

Rangers system is flawed.PP is flawed. We lost alot games by 1 goal. We were the highest scoring team since the trade deadline. I don’t buy the talent part.Hank is all talent . Best goalie not in the playoffs still.

If they do that and can get a big haul for Hank, I would than trade Staal to the Canes for their #5 and Justin Faulk. If you are going to rebuild, this is the draft to o it in. Heck, lets move DannyG as well.

Czechthemout!!!,
unless as part of the package they get a young promising goaltender and players that will fill a few needs. It’s like dam if you do and dam if you don’t. What’s the point of having lundqvist if he is your best player. The rangers need a offensive defensemen, crease clearing defensemen and another 30 goal scorer. Having lundqvist take up a quarter of your cap isn’t going to make them better.

This is a weird situation. I think Torts has done a good job getting this team going in the right direction. However, I think he has also taken it as far as he can. What happened to safe is death? Instead of being an attacking team, it was mostly passive. Although this team isn’t loaded with offensive superstars, between Cally, Step, Nash, Brassard, Hags, and Zucc, this team has the talent to put some pucks in the net. There is a lack of depth, no doubt. However, this team should never struggle to score as much as it does. It may not be a juggernaut, but it should at least be average in all offensive categories. Instead, they are below where they should be… especially on the PP.

So, the next coach may not be better than Torts, but I also don’t think the Rangers were going to go any further with Torts. The next guy needs to be somebody who knows how to put a puzzle together and get the most out of each piece. Actually, that is the description of every coach. I think Torts was too married to his system. I think a coach needs to be like a good chef: Don’t decide what the dish should be before you have seen the ingredients.

Slats, ‘We’re so close, what do you need?’
Torts, ‘We need more scoring’

Trade deadline 2013

Slats, ‘Tell me what we need to make a legit run?’
Torts, ‘We need more grit.’

Exit review 2013

Slats, Ok, what do we need to get back on track?’
Torts, ‘We need more scoring.’

Contrary to what might be thought, I ain’t celebrating, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sather is a guy who makes wild swings with his coaches, he thought he was getting what he thought was an offense first guy after going with a defense first guy with Renney after an offense first guy in Trottier. I don’t think he’s going to change his spots now. Look for someone totally inappropriate and out of left field.

Papa Bear is right, there is only one player on the roster who could make Slats act so quickly. And my guess is that it was indirect.

I could be wrong, but Hank doesn’t strike me as the type who would throw his coach under the bus. I do not see Hank knocking on the GM’s door, choking his way through the cigar smoke, slamming his fist on the desk and saying “it’s him or me” (or “Fire this clown!”)

But if Slats reached out to Hank or his agent and if the King soured on Torts, or even if Slats got that impression, then it didn’t even take 48 hours, more like 48 seconds.

Czechthemout!!!,
unfortunately I have zero faith that sather will make the right decisions, more misery in the horizon. I truly feel it’s downhill from here as long as sather is GM. The only thing left for me to look forward to is sather getting fired or retirement.

Lundqvist will be insanely good at 36 and 37 and 38 and 39; he is an incredible athlete and an even better competitor. Guys like this come around once in a generation for a hockey club. I understand the fear of the $80M/8 year deal, especially with the cap going down. And if he and
his agent do not back down from that? Problem.

Dolan:” We lost. What are you going to do about it?”
Sather: “It’s wasn’t my fault. How can it be my fault? It’s that Tortarella! I’m going to fire that guy right effing now! Don’t wait up for me, this might take awhile.”
Dolan: “I’ll be here when you get back, Sweetie”

Slatsko Folkyerself, first off it wouldn’t be 8 years, be 7 and 2nd it’s not that I don’t want him but if he could bring back a great package of young players than it might be worth trading him instead of having his huge cap hit because than the rangers would be held down from trying to better there team because of the cap hit. It’s just a thought for the future because I don’t see this team getting to the cup the way it’s constructed today.

I think Henrik is one of the best goalies, I’ve ever seen play, love his passion, dedication, etc. but if he thinks his friends like Avery and Gaborik can get his name on Lord Stanleys, I think he sorely mistaken. He had one of the best views in the house of the power play all year, and it wasn’t the guy in a suit who was missing the net by 5 feet from point, it was the guys in numbers 19, 4, etc. And if Henrik hates shot blocking they better max out his contract because he’ll end up seeing 60 shots a game if guys like Nash don’t have to “collapse”/back check. But the captain and I are from the same town, and I talk to him every summer. Between the shelving of Sauer, Staal’s injury problems, the Jekyll/Hyde Del Zotto the Defense struggled. Speaking of the Defense, everyone has talked about Torts detriment of young players, I’m sure the player that Stralman was turning into had nothing to do with Tortorella. Offensively the year was Carcillo. But clearly some players didn’t show up day 1 in game shape and throughout the year there was plenty of blame to go around between players, coach and management. Looking at the big picture I think it’s the wrong time to make the change but I hope i’m wrong. Sorry I missed the Charp Carp! And for all of youse tired of Tortorella’s combative press conferences, I hope for your sake they hire Ruff, so we can all enjoy hour long Lindy Puck Lullabies.

Quick did sign a monster deal after winning the Cup, but Fleury and Thomas were both into big contracts when they won(not as big as Quick’s, the top 5 on their team). Osgood was already a 2 timer Cup winner and at the end of his career. Niemi was rewarded with “Don’t let the door hit ya..” after winning. And those guys have all been known to run hot and cold at times.

I too would be cautious about signing a goalie to a monster deal, but Hank has been arguably the most consistent goalie in the league over the last five years than any other goalie:

I don’t like Slats at all, but I do think he’s largely right. If you don’t win, you lose. And if you aren’t going to win the Stanley Cup with the system and/or coach in place, even of he got you deep into the playoffs it’s time to change course.

While I agree with Carp’s statement that when you compare Boston’s roster to the Rangers, it is clear who has the deeper roster. However, I think there is an inherent flaw in a statement like that given the context. Tortorella’s system, I think, has stifled offensive creativity to the point that we haven’t seen the best of many of the current Rangers. Stepan, Kreider, and Hagelin have all been here solely during the Tortorella era. Who’s to say they don’t explode into offensive superstars with the institution of a better system? The same could even be said for Callahan and Boyle, who with proper coaching, could return to his 20+ goal form. Not to mention develop the offensive talents of guys like MCD, MDZ and Moore. And we still have Rick Nash.

I would rather have an nhl 2nd or 3rd line center, one of the better bottom 6 grinders/middle weights, and a young promising D man who plays a pretty good game so far, than a 1st round crap shoot pick any day

you guys are missing my point on hank. i am ok with his cap hit now and bigger cap hit next year. i was just saying when your goalie is your highest paid player it hurts the team to win. by no means would i not give hank 8 yrs 80 mil

As terrible as Sather was when he got here, he’s been pretty good since the lockout. We’ve brought a number of young players up through the system who’ve had an impact in the NHL. His trades have been solid, and when he’s made a terrible/questionable free agent signing he’s turned it into a great trade half the time (Gomez/Gaborik).

Gentlemen. As you are all aware, John Tortorella has been removed from his duties as head coach of the NY Rangers.

Be that as it may, I would be doing fellow fans of this esteemed organization a great injustice had I remained silent.

It now behooves me to speak the unspoken word. The thoughts many have thought, but had failed to voice their voices.

What was once thought of as blasphemy has become reality. While many here, including the blog writer, have thought the dismissal of one John Robert Tortorella was improper, I stated my position which was that it was imminent.

However, with that being said, I did not come here to rejoice over one man’s misfortune. I am here to state another unpopular assessment that has been gaining momentum. One which is far more hard to believe than of Mr Tortorella’s termination. One which may be of concern to my fellow fans. This is only because we the fans are what drives the business of NHL day to day activities. For without us, the fans, this league would cease to exist.

Being a fan, like many of us here, I find it vital to post this post. For we fans are accountable toward eachother. I will put this in the most relatable text I know how to.

It is as follows: That useless bum Richards ain’ts goin’ nowheres. We’re stuck with that idiot. The same jackwagon who shot a puck at his own goalie in a playoff game. Then breaks his stick as if to make us think it was the sticks fault. He ain’t getting bought out.

Now, I really hope that I was able to put my current statement in relatable terms. For it is vital for fans to hear this truth. I, as a faithful fan, took it upon myself to rescue my esteemed fellow fans from the panic that may set in as the buyout credits are maximized. I feel this organization has someone else in mind that they may buy out. There are only two granted. Our management digested one of them on one Wade Redden.

I’ll repost this from 5/22, on which Carp has some lame reply about not counting wins or something stupid…

Carp where is your rallying cry?? Fire this CLOWN.

There are the obvious faults which have come to the forefront this playoffs – the lack of in game adjustment, the lack of any type of ability to coach a PP. But even just looking at the big picture, we haven’t been good enough to give this coaching staff another season.

Outside of the first 2/3 of last year, we’re basically an average NHL team during his tenure. Last year was great and a run to the conference finals is an achievement, but we’re now 18-24 in the playoffs with Torts as coach. As nice as last spring was, we were 10-10. As far as the regular season, again as nice as last year was, the other 3 season haven’t been good enough.

With maybe the best goalie of his generation in his prime and a team that spends at or near the cap every year, it’s not good enough. If it wasn’t good enough under Renney, than it hasn’t been good enough under Torts.

When was the last time we signed an “overage” player for a significant salary? Richards, Drury, Redden were all 31/32 I believe. I guess Shanahan was signed when he was ancient, for top 6 minutes. But he was actually alright. Those days are long gone.

And no, I don’t have season tickets. Between the prices and rules in the crowd these days, going to games isn’t much of an atmosphere anyway.

Carp, can’t believe you we’re wrong. Taking down your poster as we speak. Like a lot of the group here today, I was surprised. Happy, not really but not upset either. I really think the more meaningful change needs to be at the GM level. But I don’t know. Maybe the whole hopey/ changy thing will work better in hockey than it does elsewhere.

Who was the rival coach of Gordon Bombay? He was the coach of the Hawks? Now there was a coach…what were some of his philosophies?? “It’s not worth winning if you CAN’T WIN BIG!” and “2nd place is 1st loser”. Is he available? Is he still alive?

And to ‘Chris’, the stats you bring up are silly. Kind of like saying Hank is a lousy playoff OT goalie because of his record. Tell me about the skill he has been playing with and the odds that the motley groups he’s had in front of him were good enough to actually win those games??!! Despite that, he absolved himself with the huge wins in games 6 and 7 first round.

Much the same way, with some of the teams Torts coached here, it is a wonder he GOT them to the playoffs, let alone, to the EC finals last year, and to the Semi’s this year. Credit Hank for some, but are you telling me that last year’s PO success was in no part due to some excellent coaching? Did that team even belong on the ice after the Ottowa series?

Jeezus what a terrible godawful call. You’re right Carp, especially about Gregson. Only thing missing now from this game is Kevin Collins calling multiple icings as players coast after the puck. NHL officiating is SO bad.

Good luck to the coach that comes in here. Wait till you see the crapola that your GM gives you and expects you to make a winner out of it. Howzabout 2.5 lines, not 4?? How about a ‘bunch of defensemen’, some of whom have some talent, and others that would be kicked out of the AHL?????

Not surprised at all. Rod told me all this would happen, he knew before the Boston series. And, hey, with half this blog demanding Torts’ dismissal, we should clearly attribute it to pressure put on Slats from the Rangers Report!

I must say that the team is designed around Torts’ system, so I am a little wary of what a coaching change will bring at this point in time. I have to think that this is a blow to Callahan, who has been Torts’ guy in the locker room and on the ice.

Maybe it’s simply Tortorella’s roughness around the edges, the comments on TV during the game, and lack of finesse with the media and the public that led to this, not to mention the casual criticism of players in the press. I’m sure Larry Brooks is not grieving about it.

Torts had a lot of enemies. Lot of people wanted him fired.
Lot of people that don’t understand hockey, like those that even voted in the recent polls by the News and Post. What do you think the ‘average fan’ will say? Why even have the poll if not to slander his name and move opinion in that direction?

There are, however, arguments as to why he should have been considered to have been relieved of his duties and Carp eloquently went through them. What bothered me most (and there were a number) was his mishandling of the kids. The whole Richards thing was a mess, too.

Nice post Carp but really this must have been brewing for a while. I’m sure it wasn’t just a fight and then Torts getting kicked to the curb.

Was there really any reason for anyone to not think he would not get fired? He had a good run with us last year, but the Rangers have a small window of opportunity to win the cup here. Especially with Lundqvist.

Can’t take another chance at a disappointing early playoff exit, and myself along with fans and management obviously felt he wasn’t going anywhere but down.

They have one guy signed currently after next season; Nash – only one guy. They can completely revamp this team. Seriously tank this thing; trade hank for a #1++, Trade MDZ for a #2++, trade Staal for a #2+, trade Richards…(Ha!) Not saying they would or should do it, buy they could now…

Slats: John, what do you think we need to do next year to improve? I was thinking additional asst coach to help power play, media relations training, anger management course, a more offensive system and more Sean Avery!

Torts: Glen, I was thinking better drafting, better trades, more depth, deeper roster, more cap flexibility and less cigar smoke.

While there is still a very decent change the next coach will be worse, I think this was the right decision.

The fact of the matter is Lundqvist was visibly frustrated with the play in front of him and rightly so. Is there a single player in the NHL who is more important to their team’s success than Hank?

In order for the Rangers to win a playoff game Hank needed to stand on his head and that’s simply not fair. No other goalie in the league has that kind of pressure on him and the system needs to change…

Oleo, that’s all true but…how is that Tortorella’s fault? Like Carp just asked, could have another coach done better with this roster and it’s injuries? Doubt it. And, I think Hank is smart enough to know that…

IIRC, Gretzky wasn’t happy the Rangers let Messier go after he signed there to finish his career with him, especially after they got to the conference finals together that years. He didnt want to be his replacement. He ended up missing the playoffs his last 2 years.

He was also pissed that Neil Smith wouldn’t trade Kovalev for a top scoring winger to play with him despite having numerous opportunities to do it.

Sather and Lowe are both riding Gretzky’s coattails from the eighties. How long is it going to take Edmonton and New York to realize these guys are in a time warp and have no idea what it takes to build a team in today’s game …

Not a Torts fan , but he got the dirty end of the stick. Sather is not fit to deliver papers.

now they just need to get rid of Sather. How many GMs have been in control of a team for as long as he has?

This is what happens to good coaches when the gm gives out a long term contract for mega bucks to an over the hill player and then trades a bunch of good players and picks for a so called super star who has only averged 63 points a season in his career. Way to throw Torts under the bus Slats.

It seems impossible to make it into the playoffs. I wouldn’t fire a coach capable of getting a team there

At the start of this season Torts had 3 of the best offensive players in the league, but seemed determined to turn them into goalies. The Rangers played a good defensive game, at that too, but Torts should have made better use of the tools he had on the team.

Getreal, what planet are you from? Torts had his flaws and certainly his enemies, but comparing our team to……the Kings?? Are you serious?

They are so deep they have 6 lines.

They are stout because their GM selected some big, bruising players.

They also have a very gifted goalie.

Dude, if you want a cast of a team going way beyond where it should have, that would be our 2.5 line team from last year that went to the ECF’s. Yes, Hank helps. That was a team that got there, in part, because of it’s coach. Speak of overachieving.

I think the style of play that the Rangers had under Torts is more a reflection of the roster than the coach… I think Torts played the hand he was dealt and coached to the strategy that made them the most successful they could be. They were greater than the sum of their parts, for 2 seasons in a row, IMO.

Serious question for those who watched the Rangers this season: HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, LET ALONE, WIN ROUND 1 and get to ROUND 2?

This team was brutal to watch for most of the season and was terribly inconsistent. The roster was soft. Sather experiments like Powe, Pyatt, Hamrlik were weak. I love that they brought Zucc back and Clowe was a refreshing addition. In *hindsight*, the Gaby trade looks a lot WORSE now because Torts is gone.

Matty obviously I’m from the planet logic. have you heard of it. It helps sometimes. The point of me mentioning the Kings was because of there playstyle. It’s the same thing with Penguins. When they had tons of injuries they still did really well. Who picked LA last year and this year to get this far…nobody, because they aren’t way more talented than the next team. It’s Quick and a team concept that gives them success.

Let me quess your a Torts supporter. Or you were shocked when he was canned.

Im all for exploring potential trade suitors for Lundqvist. Its not like he pulled what John Vanbeisbrouk did for the Florida Panthers in the late 90’s, taking the team on his back to the SC Finals. If we can save on LQ’s cap hit with and get a nice package of young talent in return, why not? Why not??

This is going to be interesting. I am hoping to be surprised with a great coach selection but am prepared for the worst. I don’t want them to lose the blue collar work ethic but hope they can figure out how to play a well rounded game and even score more than 1 or 2 goals a game. If they can’t start scoring, Hank will leave to win. Good thing the Rangers have Cam Talbot.

But that’s the thing. You bring a coach in to implement a style and build around that. Last years team overachieved because it was perfect for Torts’ system that he put in place.

They were tough as nails, blocked everything, and extremely deep. Instead of leaving that alone and keeping it as a base and making small moves, he goes out and trades for a soft overrated superstar and lets a bunch of other guys walk.

I’m not saying Prust, Fedotenko, or Mitchell are great players because they aren’t. But they fit the mold of the team that made it successful. To get rid of all of that and replace it with softer guys that don’t play that “it’s just pain” style was going to be a disaster for this coach.

But this happens all the time with Glen. Renney had a great run with Nylander/Jagr/Straka and the rest of the Czech Mafia and Sather broke up that team for Gomez/Drury/Zherdev/Naslund. That team can’t play Renney’s style so he gets fired and they bring in Torts, who finally gets his clean house two years ago and has a team he truly wants. He coaches them to an ECF game 6 and Sather goes and restructures the team again. Whoever this new coach is might have some success with his new roster, but there is going to be some guy that Sather wants to buy and he’ll clear a team just to get him, no matter the identity.

That’s why Pittsburgh and Boston and LA and Chicago will yet again be successful and continue to, because the base/core players and style had been and will be the same until it doesn’t work anymore. It won’t end because their GM feels the need to prove he has deep pockets by spending money on another big name.

Slim as it is, LQ is the only shot that NY has of doing anything in the playoffs. To trade him is to admit defeat, to start over. Sather won’t do that. Logic doesn’t enter into it, so stop using it. It annoys Sather, and it confuses Dolan.

I keep coming back to howthe Rangers couldn’t get motivated to show up for the first 10 minutes of nearly every game this season. That is a telltale sign of a coach not having the confidence of the room. The final straws may have happened in the last 48 hours but the writing was on the wall for a while. Hank and Avery are close, and those who wondered about the tweet and whether there were dots to connect should not have been ridiculed.

All rhis said, Torts did a great job building the identity the first couple of years. Sather dismantled it. They should both go.

Money will not be the issue that keeps Hank from extending. He will probably get offered 8 years 56m. Another team can offer him only 7 years so even if they offer him 9m per year that’s 63m, only 7m more. He can make far more than that in endorsements in NY. Mao,they key issue will be if he is satisfied the team is on the path to the cup.

I’m definitely surprised by the firing. I thought Torts would have at least half of next year to do better.
My question is, when the heck does Sather get fired? He’s the one who has put this team together, that has no offensive creativity and too much has to rely on Lundqvist game in and game out. For once, I’d like to see this team be able to lean on offensive players instead of always Lundqvist. He’s not super human and its about time Lundqvist had the offense to support him.

Confidence doesn’t create success. Success creates confidence. I constantly keep hearing Torts did the best with what he had, but he really didn’t. This team is different than last years. Some might argue more talented, and Torts played like we had the same roster as last year.

Making the excuse he only did as good as the players allowed is a copout. His coaching moves throughout the year proved he is clueless about switching up strategy’s from game to game and even during games.

Best excuse for a failing coach. I did as good as I could with the players I had. Anyone forget that experts had the Rangers finishing way higher in standing and even winning the cup

Lundqvist & Avery own a restaurant together and have been friends and both are friends with Richards. That’s a problem from the word go. Besides, I believe Henrik really got pissed with the way Torts dissed his countryman Haglan. Very stupid thing he did, but I think Henrik was not comfortable with Torts as a coach, period playing this so-called Block shot hockey. Comparisons as to his measurement of being a good coach are meaningless now. His methods have been worn paper thin and he really lost most of the players sometime back. Carp, except the fact, change can be good.

Get real – I disagree completely on that. Confident players do well and have success because they don’t think they’ll do something, they know it. Gretzky didn’t get confidence because he had success, neither did Lemieux or any of the other greats. Every time they stepped on the ice, they said “I’m the best player on the ice”. If we have a bunch of guys that need some success to build their confidence, then I don’t want them on my team. And those experts who predicted them to be better are the same idiots who thought Columbus would fold without Rick Nash. They saw a name and thought he would change the franchise. He did, he just happened to make it worse.

I had them picked at 5-6 because of the changes in the roster, and that was before the lockout. Whoever looked at this team on paper and thought they were contending didn’t know what they were looking at.

And Manny – last years Kings and Rangers were mirror images. Not this years. Not even close.

Ok Jonny well said. Though most players aren’t Gretzky or anywhere close to that calibur. I think its probably a mix of the two. I’m refering more to a team confidence as well. Teams buy into concepts when the concepts produce good results. They lose confidence in a system that isn’t doing well.

I also was never comparing LA to the Rangers. I was just simply saying they are not the most talented team in the NHL, and they have amazing results because of the team concept they use.

Yea your probably right about the experts predictions.

Is this to hard to see though. Look at the Senators as well this year. Team totally decimated by injuries, and they did extremely well still. This is no doubt because of a team concept that worked even when plugging new younger and probably lesser talented players.

Nice to wake up this morning in NYC and hear Boomer and Carton, in the midst of a Subway Series, talking Rangers hockey.

Not the most knowledgable and admitting to be an outsider, Carton says something like there’s an “old Italian saying that a fish stinks from the head…” and he goes on to say, alright, it’s been how long, 13 years…where is the accountability with this GM the Rangers have?

I don’t want to belabor a losing argument for you, GetReal, but there is absolutely no comparison between the LA Kings, on their way to the final four of hockey again this year, with a 6 line team, 4 pairing defense and farm system stocked with talent, with a cherry on top like Quick (who east coast fans may not see much, but is an awesome, probable top 3 goalie in league) and the Rangers.

The only comparison is the style of play in that it is defensive. Our team loses Stralman and we have to bring in Hamrlik. They lose players like Williams all year. What did they bring in?

Point being, Give most coaches that job and it’s plug and play with that depth. Torts, as he probably far too openly stated, didn’t have a fourth line last year. If you watched the EC Finals and were able to tell, a part of that that series loss was the lack of a 4th line on our team. So, with a whole off season, what does our GM do? He certainly didn’t created a 4th line for this year, either, In fact, before the Gabby trade, it was worse than last year.

A coach can only play what he is given.

I am fine holding him to a standard. He made many mistakes and some of them, frankly, are not reversible. Perhaps, and I am not in the room, he lost the room.

But judge the guy on what he achieved and what he achieved it with!! Could anyone not tell that Boston, hurting on d, so worried about depth with the loss of 3 d-men before our series, replaces them without losing a step with 3 young guys? And we lose 2 (ok with Sauer, you could push that to 3) and we replace with Eminger, Hamrlik, with Gilroy and Bickel in the wings???

Who built this organization? That’s what he’s got in 13 years and 5 years of no playoff’s?????????

Come on everyone, do we really trust Slats to produce a better team next year? Sorry I don’t and I am seriously considering not supporting this team until Slats is gone. How this arrogant GM still has a job is beyond me. He has to have dirt on Dolan because he really has not done much to help this team. He has been the most successful with Torts, so my guess is next year will be either a miss of the playoffs or an 8th or 7th placed finish with an early exit. Slats is old school in a new school NHL. Everyone outside of the NY media is saying that things for NYR will get really tough over the next few years.

Tortorella got a raw deal getting fired. He has been the best coach we’ve had since Mike Keenan. He had his flaws mentioned above, but how quickly we forget the mediocrity here before Torts was hired. Slats should have made him hire a PP specialist assistant coach.